An executive should be a realist; and no one is less realistic than the cynic.
Integrity may be difficult to define, but what constitutes lack of integrity is of such seriousness as to disqualify a person for a managerial position. A person should never be appointed to a managerial position if his vision focuses on people’s weakness rather than on their strengths. The person who always knows exactly what people cannot do, but never sees anything they can do, will undermine the spirit of her organization. An executive should be a realist; and no one is less realistic than the cynic.
A person should not be appointed if that person is more interested in the question “Who is right?” than in the question “What is right?” To ask “Who is right?” encourages one’s subordinates to play it safe, if not to play politics. Above all, it encourages subordinates to “cover up” rather than to take corrective action as soon as they find out that they have made a mistake. Management should not appoint a person who considers intelligence more important than integrity. It should never promote a person who has shown that he or she is afraid of strong subordinates. It should never put into a management job a person who does not set high standards for his or her own work.
ACTION POINT: Define integrity. Work on those attributes of integrity that you require in a new employee.
Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices
* Source: The Daily Drucker by Peter F. Drucker